Maputo, Mozambique, 12 June – Traffic at Mozambique’s Beira Port fell 11 percent in May, against the previous month, due to decreased exports from Malawi and Mozambique, the company managing the port in northern Mozambique said.

In May, the cargo traffic at the port totalled 52,000 metric tons, as compared with 58,600 tons the previous month.

In the first five months of the year, the port dealt with 257,570 tons of goods.

The greatest falls in May were posted by exports, particularly those from Malawi, of 9,554 tons to 3,763 tons, and Mozambique, which fell to 6,535 tons, or half that recorded in April.

Exports from Zambia and Zimbabwe also fell, and only those from the Democratic Republic of Congo increased to 296 tons, or more than double exports in the previous month.

In imports, the main variation was posted by Mozambique, of an increase of around 50 percent to 16,619 metric tons of goods.

In 2005, traffic at the Beira Port totalled 1.53 million metric tons, a 12.3 percent rise on the previous year.

In terms of containers, the main points of origin were Malawi (39 percent) and Mozambique (38.7 percent).

In terms of general cargo, the main exporters were Zimbabwe (45 percent) and Mozambique (27.6 percent). (macauhub)